
The Center Grove Trojans celebrate after winning semi-state against Ben Davis at Ben Davis on Friday. Center Grove advances to state final next week at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Photo: Indianapolis Star).
Playoff losses to Super 25-ranked teams opened the door to three new Super 25 teams: No. 23 American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.); No. 24 North Penn (Lansdale, Pa.) and No. 25 Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.).
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American Heritage improved to 11-0 as it held off Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) 10-7 in a 5A-Region 4 semifinal on Friday as running back Miles Jones ran for 101 yards.
North Penn’s Nick Dillon ran for three touchdowns in a 42-25 defeat of Coatesville in a 6A Region 1 semifinal. The Knights could face No. 13 St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia) in a 6A semifinal in two weeks if both teams win quarterfinal games this week.
Center Grove has the potential to win back-to-back state titles. Running back Russ Yeast ran for four touchdowns in a 42-22 defeat of Ben Davis (Indianapolis) in a 6A semifinal on Friday. The Trojans (12-1) play Carmel for the state title on Friday.
In other significant moves, 11-0 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) dropped a spot to No. 3 after it had to come from behind with 16 points in the fourth quarter to win 16-6 at three-loss Bishop Sullivan (Virginia Beach, Va.), a team that hadn’t played in nearly a month.
That allowed 12-0 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), which defeated Vista Murrieta (Murrieta) 63-30 in a CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinal, to move up to No. 2. Mater Dei faces Rancho Cucamonga in the semifinals after it eliminated Mission Viejo, which was ranked No. 25 and had a 39-game winning streak.
Three teams dropped out of the Super 25 with playoff defeats: No. 19 Kahuku (Hawaii); No. 21 Jenks (Okla.); and Mission Viejo, Calif.